"Xiulan, sit beside your brother Jian," Long Tengfei said before taking his seat at the head of the table.

Iris obeyed and sat beside Long Jian, not noticing the disappointed expression on Long Jufang's face who initially intended on inviting her to sit beside him instead.

Long Tengfei checked his wristwatch and announced, "It's time. Let's start the meeting."

Everyone knew why the meeting was called today, so nobody beat around the bush.

"Our company's stock prices crashed overnight. We need to discuss strategies on how to recover as soon as possible," the CFO said.

"Isn't it because our Deputy CFO did something scandalous that our stock prices crashed?" a board member said in a sardonic tone. "He's the one who caused the problem in the first place so he should be the one to take responsibility and solve it."

"And what do you suggest my deputy do to solve the problem?" the CFO asked.

"Simple. Present his resignation."

"I object!" Long Meng glared at the board member. "What a ridiculous suggestion!"

"Ridiculous? This is the simplest and the most effective solution. I guarantee that our stock prices will recover quickly once he resigns. Want to bet?"

"You!" Long Meng was furious.

"Grandaunt Meng, please calm down." Now it was Long Hui's turn to whisper calming words to the elder.

The table erupted in great noise as people started talking over each other. One group supported the board member's idea and demanded for Long Hui's resignation while another group was in support of him and tried to defend him from the attackers. A neutral group tried to mediate and calm everyone down but to no avail.

"Enough!" Long Tengfei banged his hand on the table, instantly stopping the ruckus. Then he turned his strict eyes on his eldest son. "Deputy CFO Long Hui, do you have anything to say for yourself?"

"Yes, President Long. I do. Please allow me to explain myself."

"Alright. Go ahead."

[This novel is a contracted work with W e b n o v e l . c o m (remove spaces). If you're not reading this chapter on W e b n o v e l, it has been stolen. It's very discouraging to see thieves profitting from my hard work. Please read this novel on W e b n o v e l. Thank you! -Arria]

Long Hui stood up and headed to the presentation area. He was aware that all eyes were on him like stabbing knives. However, he managed to keep his composure and look calm on the outside. His father was looking at him with an unreadable expression as always, but Long Hui could sense his father's disappointment in him.

Next were his half-siblings. Long Jian managed to look concerned for him, effectively presenting himself as a good brother to those observing. Iris, on the other hand, wore an unreadable expression very similar to their father's. But Long Hui could imagine the real mocking expressions hiding beneath their fake masks.

He took a few deep breaths and finally started speaking.

"Before anything else, I would like to apologize for all the inconvenience my actions have caused the company and all of you…"

First order of business was a "heartfelt" apology in order to garner sympathy so that they would be more receptive to his explanation and lenient on his current unfortunate situation.

He was able to maintain a delicate balance of remorse for his "carelessness" and determination "not to let it happen again and become a better person".

"Great acting skills. It's making me a little envious. I have to take acting classes just to improve, but look at him. He's a natural," Iris commented in a low voice.

Long Jian's mouth twitched. Fortunately, he was able to stop himself from laughing out loud. "Little Sister, all of us here didn't get to where we are today without learning some sort of acting skills. It's one of the most important tacit skills needed to climb the corporate ladder and to keep one's position."

"Oh. Really? So you're good in acting, too?"

"Of course. Not to brag but I'm an excellent actor. Better than Long Hui. Remember that I'm not a legitimate child like you or him, so I have to work a hundred times harder just to get to where I am today. Acting skills is very important in order for me to reverse the preconceived notions of people about me being an illegitimate son of the company president."

She nodded. Hearing Long Jian say it like that, Iris thought that he was actually quite an impressive man. After her rebirth as Iris Long, she never felt completely at ease with Long Jian because her intuition told her that he wasn't exactly how he appeared to be. There was cunningness behind his handsome smile. Another thing was that he had a horrible, ill-behaved mother who often got into fights in public, particularly with Wei Lan.

However, they had become more comfortable chatting with each other ever since they allied together when Long Jian bowed his head to her and Jin Liwei and asked them to help his mother, Zhu Ning, who was currently still in police custody after being framed for the mall bombing. It was actually Long Jian who informed Iris about the meeting today and urged her to come in order to start their plans of kicking Long Hui out of the battle of succession. In addition to this, Long Jian had already started feeding her important information about the inner workings of the company.

"Hmm. If that's the case, then I guess I need to really improve my acting skills because I now have my own companies," she said.

"Yes. It's a good skill to have," Long Jian replied.

Iris thought more about it and realized that indeed some acting skills were needed in business. Even her tyrannical darling needed to be on his best behaviour when meeting fellow CEOs of other multinational companies, even when he didn't like them. She remembered Grandpa Lu complaining about it during one of their lessons.

"I once punched a CEO in the face back in the days because he was a complete asshole who harassed female secretaries! Our company lost billions in a potential partnership because of it but what do I care?! Why should I pretend to like someone when I don't just to get ahead?! Why?! I want to know! Your Grandfather Jin—I wish you met him, he would've loved you too—always called me a hothead! Bah! I'm not a hothead! I'm just true to myself!"

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